8 Quick Changes You Can Make to Save $100 a Month

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Are you living paycheck to paycheck and simply don’t know where to begin cutting your monthly spending? These quick money hacks can help you shave at least $100 off your currently monthly spending. That’s an extra $1,200 a year that is currently into somebody else’s wallet and can remain in yours instead.

Cancel Subscriptions with Trim

Do you know where you spend every dollar each month? If not, you can benefit from using Trim. It’s a free bot that automatically analyzes your spending for unused subscriptions. With one simple text message, Trim will cancel your unused subscriptions to a streaming plan, gym membership, and insurance policies.

Trim can also lower your Comcast cable bill and give you cash with digital coupons loaded to a Visa credit card. If you love to shop at Amazon, Trim’s price protection feature will automatically request a partial refund if Amazon reduces the selling price after you purchase an item.

Shop with Cash Back Portal

Raise your hand if your shop online. You might not have known that you can get cash back on almost every single purchase you make online. By using an online shopping portal, you can receive 1% to 40% cash back on every purchase from over 2,000 stores including Amazon, Kohl’s, Macy’s, and many more.

My favorite portal is Ebates because they offer in-store cash back and even have a browser extension that ensures every purchase can receive cash back with a single mouse click. Plus, new members get a $10 cash bonus after making their first purchase.

How much you save with a cash back portal depends on where you shop and how much you spend. After using this hack, you will never look at online shopping in the same light again.

Stream Cable TV

If you currently have a $100+ monthly cable tv bill, you can watch the same channels for only $20. Companies like Sling TV let you stream ESPN, Disney, and many others for half the cost. All you need is an internet connection, and you can begin watching live programming and on-demand video from your tv, computer, or mobile device.

If you are a sports fan, it’s also possible to stream NFL games and watch ESPN, NFL Network, and your local channels for less than $50.

Pack Your Lunch

We all enjoy going out to lunch with the guys (or girls), but restaurants aren’t exactly cheap. Assuming the actual lunch costs $10 a day, you can spend $200 a month on your lunch break. That doesn’t even include how much you might spend dining with the family in the evenings.

Even if you only bring your lunch for half the month, you will still save $100 a month and still be able to enjoy a meal with your coworkers. Packing a lunch and bringing your own coffee to work only takes a few extra minutes in the morning and it can be healthier too.

Open an Online Bank Account

Could you afford an unexpected $500 bill without having to borrow money? Many times, we simply forget to take the time to save money for the future. Instead, we spend it.

Here’s an easy fix that can help you build an emergency fund so you are no longer are forced to go into debt when life throws its next curveball.

Open a high-yield online bank account and schedule $100 to be automatically deposited each month. This account needs to be separate from the account you pay your bills with so you don’t spend the money on accident.

Even if you decide to transfer $50 each paycheck, you still reach your $100 monthly goal. Scheduling auto transfers let the bank do all the hard work for you.

Use a Micro Savings App

Another way to automate your savings is to use a micro-savings or a micro-investing app like Qapital. These apps are free to use and take a few cents or dollars out each week. One app, for example, might roundup your purchase amounts and transfer the difference to the separate account that earns interest.

This hack alone might not save $100 a month, but you will it help accumulate a small fortune without pinching your wallet.

Invest with a Robo-Advisor

Investing is another excellent way to make passive income without having to work any harder yourself. It can be even easier when you use a robo-advisor like Betterment. All you need is $1 to start investing, and they handle all the investment decisions and portfolio management for you. The only thing you need to do is tell them how much you want to invest every month.

If you have the option, you can also contribute to your employer 401k. Many 401k plans will match a percentage of your contributions. If you contribute $100 a month, your employer might match the contribution and give you $100 free. Make sure you are maximizing your 401k match.

Make an Extra Loan Payment

With this hack, you will be initially spending more each month but will end up spending less money overall. If you currently have any loans, mortgage, car loan, or student loans, paying more than the minimum payment will save you thousands of dollars (maybe even $10,000+) in interest.

An easy way to start is to make bi-weekly payments. With this payment plan, you will make a half-payment every two weeks. You will end up making the equivalent one extra monthly payment each year. For example, if your minimum monthly payment is $350, you will pay $125 every two weeks.

This method will have the largest impact on a 30-year mortgage. But, you will still save money on short-term loans like a 36-month car loan. The larger your extra payment, the less you pay in interest so feel free to pay twice your monthly payment (i.e., $700 instead of $350) if you can afford it. Just check out how much you could save!

Summary

By implementing at least one of these hacks, you can easily save $100 a month or more. Whether you use that money to pay off loans early, save for a rainy day, boost your retirement account, or pay for a vacation in cash, your financial life will become less stressful. The best part about these hacks is that they all require minimal effort and only a few minutes of your time.

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Do You Know How Much You Pay?

Do you know how many subscription services you have each month and how much money you are paying? Well, if you don’t, then it’s time to take a look at Trim. It’s a service to help you cancel unwanted subscription services with ease. The best part is it’s free!

Reader Interactions

Comments

I really like Betterment because it lets me invest small amounts really easily, in just one step (order up a deposit). It’s much simpler than transferring money to an online broker and then putting in a buy order. I’ve also had great results with Ebates (10% back on a computer).

That’s the huge win for Betterment. Investing has never been easier. Ebates is also another plus, I installed the browser extension so I never miss a cash back opportunity. My wife and I get a check each quarter that we didn’t earn before making the same purchases before we knew Ebates existed.

Some great advice. Packed lunches have been a big one for me recently. I worked out I was spending far too much buying lunches 5 days a week whilst out in the city centre and therefore was not putting my money to the best of use. I save lots packing my lunches now.

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Hello, I'm Grayson!

Thanks for visiting Debt Roundup. I built this site to share the journey I took to get out of nearly $75,000 in debt. I share tips about debt, making money, saving money, investing, and much more. Take some time to learn more about me.

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